1st Stage is thrilled to announce the Logan Festival of Solo Performance, running from August 20 – 30, 2026.
This innovative festival, acclaimed in The Washington Post with “three plays prove the power of one,” will gather celebrated solo performers from across the country for two weeks of performances, workshops, discussions, and events. The 2026 festival will feature three dynamic productions:
LET IT BE ART! Harold Clurman’s Life of Passion
Written and Performed by Ronald Rand
Through the unforgettable performance by award-winning actor Ronald Rand, audiences are invited on an inspiring journey that celebrates the life, passion and humor of the legendary Harold Clurman, known as “the Elder Statesman of the American Theatre.” As co-founder, with Lee Strasberg and Cheryl Crawford, of the famed Group Theatre of the 1930s — considered by many the most significant ensemble art theater in the history of the American Theatre — Clurman helped revolutionize not only the American Theatre, but American acting in every facet. LET IT BE ART! honors the breadth of Clurman’s legacy and the transformative power of theater.
It Ends With Guinea Pigs
Written and Performed by Diana Gitelman
Directed by Faline England
What begins as the reluctant adoption of two male guinea pigs unexpectedly becomes a portal into generational trauma, cultural identity, marriage dynamics, motherhood exhaustion, hamster-related murder guilt, and an eventual emotional awakening. We journey from non–self-care Soviet Jewish roots to pigs, lice, and healing through pig poop. The guinea pigs — objectively useless — become absurd spirit guides, opening the door to unprocessed grief tied to Frisky and “Babushka” (Grandma). Along the way, they help forge new boundaries and rebuild self-worth, culminating in a love of self, life, and, oddly…these pigs.
Baron Vaughn: Cycle Breaker
Written and Performed by Baron Vaughn
Directed by Aysan Celik
Nothing brings your own childhood into focus like raising your own children. Married 40-something father, Baron Vaughn digs into his own past to understand how it formed him and how he’ll approach parenthood in his funny and deeply human solo show. Baron explores his relationships with his parents and grandparents as he uncovers the values he wishes to instill and the damage he’d rather not pay forward to his own children. Part stand-up comedy, part memory play, Baron Vaughn: Cycle Breaker is a meditation on family and what it takes to truly break a cycle.
The Logan Festival of Solo Performance will run August 20-30, 2026 at 1st Stage, 1524 Spring Hill Rd, Tysons, VA, with performances of each show as follows:
LET IT BE ART!: Thursday, August 20 at 7:30pm; Saturday, August 22 at 5:00pm; Sunday, August 23 at 7:30pm; Friday, August 28 at 7:30pm; Saturday, August 29 at 2:00pm; Sunday, August 30 at 5:00pm
It Ends With Guinea Pigs: Saturday, August 22 at 7:30pm; Sunday, August 23 at 2:00pm; Wednesday, August 26 at 7:30pm; Thursday, August 27 at 7:30pm; Saturday, August 29 at 7:30pm; Sunday, August 30 at 2:00pm
Baron Vaughn: Cycle Breaker: Friday, August 21 at 7:30pm; Saturday, August 22 at 2:00pm; Sunday, August 23 at 5:00pm; Tuesday, August 25 at 7:30pm; Saturday, August 29 at 5:00pm; Sunday, August 30 at 7:30pm
General admission tickets are $20 per show and $10 per show for students, educators, or military with valid ID. Festival passes are also available for $36 (one ticket to each of the 3 shows) or $72 (two tickets to each of the 3 shows). Individual tickets and festival passes can be purchased online at www.1stStage.org, by emailing the 1st Stage box office at boxoffice@1ststage.org, or calling the box office at 703.854.1856.
About 1st Stage
1st Stage Theatre is an award-winning professional theater in the heart of Tysons, Virginia. The company serves as a cultural hub for the community producing first-rate theatrical productions as well as hosting professional musicians, orchestras, and visual artists, and providing educational opportunities for the community. 1st Stage’s production of The Nance received 4 Helen Hayes Awards in 2025, including Outstanding Production, and was the most nominated production in the region. Other awards include the American Theatre Wing’s National Theatre Company award. Additionally, 1st Stage is a renewed member of the Spur Local (formerly the Catalogue for Philanthropy) class of 2025-2026. In September 2016, The Wall Street Journal called 1st Stage “one of America’s most impressive smaller regional companies.”
